Wesley Moon is a master of the makeover. His one-bedroom apartment was featured here back in April of 2014, and now he has performed a similar sleight-of-hand with the 550-square-foot studio he and his partner, Salvatore Malleo, purchased in the ’60s-era Co-ops of Fire Island Pines.
Here in the entry hall, Moon says he “applied wood strips to the Sheetrock to create a board-and-batten effect.” And the oak floors, he explains, were stripped, “fumed, and cerused to produce a soft-gray color with a driftwood feeling.” He found the Kilim runner at Double Knot. The pop-art portrait is by Math-You.
“The apartment was a clean white box begging for personality,” Moon says. The eight-foot-long vintage Dunbar sofa doubles as a bed “for the occasional guest.” He covered it in teal-blue glazed linen from Cowtan & Tout. The drapery panels are from Marimekko, and the rug is from Madeline Weinrib. “We had a custom neon sign made with the apropos beach motto ‘Let’s Have a Kiki,’ taken from the Scissor Sisters song of the same name.”
Opposite the sofa, Moon replaced the original freestanding wall unit that he describes as having been “an unfortunate shade of yellow” with a much crisper design using bead board and a neutral shade to match the walls. It contains the Murphy bed, TV, and air conditioner.
The ’70s-era pewter-and-brass bar cart is at the ready to roll out for entertaining.
At night, the Murphy bed appears, accompanied by a Mongolian wool stool that doubles as a night table. The vintage Milo Baughman chair has been covered in fuchsia bouclé from Knoll and can be easily moved around the apartment, as it’s on casters.
“We didn’t want to feel like we were living in a kitchen,” Moon says, “but Sal is an amazing cook, so it had to function.” Moon added butcher-block countertops and then concealed the appliances, so it felt less kitchen-y and more like a bar. “Between this space and the grill,” he says, “we regularly host up to 14 for dinner.” The stools are from Blu Dot, with cushions made from ikat fabric from Holland & Sherry, kept in place by magnets.
A Beverly Hills Hotel moment in the bathroom, with walls covered in iconic Martinique wallpaper (also made famous by the restaurant Indochine).
This covered porch is the apartment’s main gathering place, with a custom-designed Corian tabletop for the Saarinen base. The outdoor sofa and chairs are from Room and Board.
The opposite corner of the terrace has room for a pair of Ligne Roset Serpentine chairs. The outdoor rug is from Dash & Albert and really makes the porch feel like an alfresco room.
Here’s Kevin Calhoun, Santiago Gulgar, Brian Hahn, Malleo, and Moon lounging in front of the Co-ops, enjoying some late-afternoon cocktails.
